Covid-19 Numbers/Evanston

On March 14, Evanston confirmed its first two cases of COVID-19. Yesterday, March 23, it had 36 confirmed cases and two deaths, both seniors.

One of the people who died was John LaPlante, former acting director of the City of Chicago's Transportation Department, who was a beloved member of the Unitarian Church of Evanston and who died at Evanston Hospital. The other was a resident at Evanston's Three Crowns Park.

Evanston resident and reporter Monica Eng wrote LaPorte's obituary for WBEZ, which you can read here.

Former Chicago Tribune writer and Evanston resident Mark Caro's 85-year-old father lives at Three Crowns Park. Yesterday, a piece Mark wrote about how difficult it is to get testing, even for this extremely vulnerable population, was published in The Forward. His piece is humorous, frustrating, and frightening.

"Three COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in their community so far: two in a health-care unit and one in the independent-living wing where my dad lives," Mark wrote. "Yet none of the almost 200 other residents are being tested because, as an Illinois Department of Public Health official said, in a letter to the community, there are 'limited resources,' so 'haphazard testing' of asymptomatic people is not recommended."

"In the meantime, NBA superstar Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets has tested positive despite being asymptomatic, as have several other NBA players. In fact, Durant’s entire team was tested, though only one player showed symptoms of the virus.

That’s why forming an NBA team may be the best gambit for my dad and his fellow seniors. What should they call it?

The Kveltics? The 86ers? The Pacemakers? (Turn Up) The Heat?"

You can read his story here.

PLEASE EVERYONE: STAY HOME! Protect yourselves, your families, our seniors, and our healthcare workers.

Covid-19 confirmed numbers are updated on the City's website each day at 3 p.m. here.

NOTE: We don’t know how many people actually have the disease; we can assume there is wide spread in our community. Until our efforts to “flatten the curve” take hold, the number of confirmed cases will continue to grow significantly.

[photos: John LaPlante (WBEZ)]